Financial Plan

Analysis Discussion-Financial Crisis

Organizations can experience crises due to changes in economic conditions. In an economic downturn where individuals lose their jobs, many also lose their medical insurance coverage.

With fewer employees on the payroll, states receive less revenue from taxes and thus have less money to pay for Medicaid and other services.

This compounds the problem of healthcare funding. Hospitals lose out on high-margin procedures and, at the same time, see an increase in charity care in less profitable areas of the hospital.

1. Pick a hospital or healthcare setting

2. Write a summary of the strategic analysis of a hospital or healthcare setting including an analysis of management, mission, vision, marketing strategies, and operational considerations

3. Write a financial analysis including a discussion of current and projected earnings, cash flow, and financing needs.

4. Write a series of recommendations to management regarding the necessary next steps to be successful in the event of a financial crisis. For your paper, you will consider the following two scenarios:

a. Scenario 1: The nursing union has begun bargaining and has demanded a 10 percent increase in salaries, a guarantee of no lay-offs, and an increase in pension benefits. The increase in pension benefits has a $1 million annual impact.

b. Scenario 2: Your community is suffering a significant decrease in employment. Employees are losing their health insurance. You anticipate a 10 percent decrease in patient revenue. However, your costs will not decrease to the same extent. You anticipate many of these individuals will continue to visit your emergency room (ER) and consume resources. The net impact is a significant increase in bad debt.

In your plan, include the operating and capital requirements the organization would need in order to navigate the crisis. Write a 3- to 5-page report in Word format. Apply current APA standards for writing style to your work. Comments on these questions:

a. How often should a hospital management review the budget?

b. Can a hospital develop an austerity program with deep budget cost cuts without affecting patient care?

c. You manage an operating budget of approximately $500,000.

You have been instructed to cut your budget by 10 percent two months after you had agreed to a barebones budget for the upcoming year.

What do you do if you know that the cuts will affect patient care? Demonstrate the importance of cost management.